Celine Dion on How Her “Helpful” Twins Support Her

Celine Dion is leaning on her kids for support as she continues to battle stiff-person syndrome. The “My Heart Will Go On” singer, who was diagnosed with the rare motor function disorder in August 2022, revealed she was initially overwhelmed by the challenge of telling her three sons about her health issues right after the death of their father, late husband Réne Angélil. “I did not want my kids to be scared,” the star told People in a cover story published June 12. “They already lost a parent.”

Ahead of the release of I Am: Celine Dion, a documentary about her battle with stiff-person syndrome, Dion opened up about some of the fears she had before her official diagnosis.

“[They] will have something to eat tonight and tomorrow, but what if I don’t know what’s going on with me, and what if I die? What if I don’t wake up?” she said of her sons René-Charles, 23, and 13-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson.  “They already lost their dad. What are they thinking? Are they scared to ask me? Should I bring it up?”

Finally getting an answer about what was going on with her body helped ease some of the burden, as Dion was able to talk to her kids about what to expect and put a plan in place.

“I let them know, ‘okay, you lost your dad, [but] mom has a condition, and it’s different,’” she told the publication about the conversation she had with her sons. “‘I’m not going to die. It’s not something that’s going to go away, [but] it’s something that I’m going to learn to live with.’”

The “Prayer” singer was also able to lean on her kids for help during “crisis” episodes when she undergoes excruciating full-body spasms, which she’s said have been bad enough to break her ribs or make her feel like she’s being “strangled.”

“They saw a crisis, we explained it, we played it frame by frame,” she said. “When I make a sound, or when I don’t make a sound, and what can they do because they’re 13 years old. They can help me out even if I don’t communicate verbally because I can’t produce a sound.”

“The idea of telling them and showing them, it was not to frighten them. It is for them to know, ‘I’m your mom and it’s my responsibility. You’re old enough to understand I might need your help,’” she said, revealing that she and her physical therapist have crisis drills every few months with her twins as well as “panic buttons in the house” to ensure everything runs smoothly in the event of a real emergency.

The star revealed that Eddy and Nelson had quickly risen to the challenge, and frequently check in on her unprompted.

“They’re so amazing because I would say 15 minutes or so every night, they come and they say, ‘Mom,’ and I say, ‘Yes?’ [They say], ‘It’s just because it’s been a little longer than you usually take when you clean up at night before bedtime. We just want to make sure you’re fine,’” she shared. “This is our lives now: We care for each other, and they’re so helpful.”